The Truth About The Life Of Harry Potter
by Potters Love Redheads
Summary: Over the period of his life, Harry Potter has hid the truth from his friends and family. Now that the war has ended, Fate and Death team up to give Harry something back, but their condition is that he must let everyone know the truth of his life.
1. Chapter 1

Hi there. I have been reading Harry Potter fanfiction for a long time and lots of people have attempted this and so I finally thought I'd give it a go. This will be a reading the books story so please enjoy.

Disclaimer:The Harry Potter books are clearly written by J. . None of the written work in bold is mine. I am merely borrowing her amazing story which belongs entirely to her.

The truth about the life of Harry Potter

The second war against Voldemort was over, he was finally dead. Harry Potter sat amidst the survivors, his feelings spiralling out of control. The two wars had taken so much from him, he was a changed man. He had stared death in the face and had walked away relatively unscathed. All that remained was a second lightning bolt scar on his chest. He had revealed what had happened in the forest to anyone, and most likely never would. He didn't have the heart to tell them that they had almost lost him.

Far above the world, the mystical forces of the world watched the young man's sorrow. The most noted two were fate and death. They had no form as such, they could come and go as they pleased, hardly seen by the mortals below, except in certain circumstances. In front of the two stood eight people.

"You have been given the chance to return to earth." Said Death in his eerie voice. "The soul of the one named Voldemort has entered my domain in eight pieces and so eight souls may go free. You eight have been chosen as you are the missing pieces of the master of deaths life. He shall have the final say on whether you stay or not. If you are to stay he is to willingly give up the deathly hallows." (In this story Harry Pocketed the Resurrection stone)

"Before that is to happen though," came the voice of fate. Hers was one of music and life. "The truth must be revealed. You have not seen the world since the time of your individual deaths and so when you are returned, these seven books will be read out loud for all to hear. Only once this has been completed and you know the truth of his life may the master of death grant you your lives."

The eight people nodded, knowing that their one chance of freedom and happiness was to be decided.

The great hall was once again full with students. The great hall looked like nothing had ever happened and all the house tables were in their original positions. Harry found himself wondering on the outcome of the battle. Had it only been yesterday that he had stopped Voldemort? There had been so much death and destruction that he was still feeling numb from it. Ginny helped though. She had held him whilst he cried last night and then once that was over he had told her how much he had relied on her to get himself through, that her face was the shining light at the end of the long tunnel which had been the struggle against Voldemort. She had merely kissed him, telling him that she would always be waiting for him. Now they were back together as if the last year had never happened.

The conversation in the hall suddenly died down as the doors of the great hall opened and eight people, believed to be dead stood there.

Silence. Looks of disbelief and sorrow covered the faces of most of the people present. Almost everyone at once had turned to look at Harry, who was staring open mouthed at the bunch of people standing in the entrance to the great hall. He didn't dare himself to hope.

"Prongslet?" whispered Sirius before Harry was running towards him grabbing him in a big hug. He started to cry. He was really here. "Hey, I'm here, I'm back." He rubbed Harry's back as his godson cried into his shoulder. "I've brought some friends along, I'm sure they'd like to meet you." Harry looked up past Sirius to see Dumbledore, Snape, Mooney, Tonks, Fred, and two others. They looked like his parents! But they couldn't be, could they? James and Lily slowly moved forward to take a look at their son. They had missed so much of his life. Emerald green eyes found Emerald green eyes and a three way hug followed, each crying for the lost time.

Harry looked up to see the others mingling with the teachers and students, welcoming them back. The Weasley's had gone mad when they had seen Fred, encompassing him in a sea of red.

"How is this possible?" Harry asked.

"That is a good question Harry," said Dumbledore with his trademark twinkling eyes. "I do believe we have you to thank for that. When you united the Deathly Hallows you were named master of death. This is merely your reward. However there is a catch." Dumbledore paused. "The truth of your life will be unveiled to everyone. Everyone will know that you have been telling the truth." Harry nodded. The truth for having his family back was something he could do. He nodded his head. Dumbledore smiled. "There are seven books, one for each year at Hogwarts I assume. Would anyone like to have the honour of reading first?" Of course Hermione was the first to want to read. Everyone settled down on the benches, ready for the story to begin. Harry sat with his parents on his left and Ginny on his right.

The first book appeared on the table in front of Hermione, causing her to grin.

"Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone."


	2. The Boy Who Lived

**THE BOY WHO LIVED**

**Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.**

"Your welcome," shouted the Weasley twins together. It was nice to see them twin speaking again.

**They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense.**

"They must lead very dull lives," Luna said dreamily. Silently Harry agreed.

**Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills.**

The Pure-bloods looked around confused causing Hermione to explain.

"It's a muggle tool to break things apart or make holes with."

**He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large mustache. Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbors. The Dursleys had a small son called Dudley and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere.**

Harry snorted. Back then Dudley had been the worst sort of boy.

**The Dursleys had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it. They didn't think they could bear it if anyone found out about the Potters.**

"What's wrong with the Potter's" asked James, whilst Lily shook her head. She had a bad feeling that this Dursley fellow sounded awfully familiar.

**Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursley's sister, but they hadn't met for several years; in fact, Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn't have a sister, because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband were as unDursleyish as it was possible to be.**

"Petunia!" exclaimed Lily. She and Snape nodded at each other remembering the spiteful things that Petunia had said to her when she was younger. She had tried to save their sistership but Petunia wanted nothing to do with her.

**The Dursleys shuddered to think what the neighbors would say if the Potters arrived in the street. The Dursleys knew that the Potters had a small son, too, but they had never even seen him. This boy was another good reason for keeping the Potters away; they didn't want Dudley mixing with a child like that.**

"Hey, Harry was a very well behaved child I'll have you know. He hardly ever cried." Lilly exclaimed, upset that her sister could think that about her son when she hadn't even met him.

**When Mr. and Mrs. Dursley woke up on the dull, gray Tuesday our story starts,**

"I thought the story already started" someone shouted. Hermione paused sending a scathing look towards the student.

"It's called a prologue, it introduces you to the characters."

**there was nothing about the cloudy sky outside to suggest that strange and mysterious things would soon be happening all over the country. Mr. Dursley hummed as he picked out his most boring tie for work,**

"Why would you have a boring tie?" asked Mr Weasley who loved learning about muggles. Harry smiled at him.

"It's just the way the Dursley's are," he finished.

**and Mrs. Dursley gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his high chair.**

**None of them noticed a large, tawny owl flutter past the window.**

"How could they miss that? Owls are hard to miss." Said Ron, who was sitting next to Hermione.

**At half past eight, Mr. Dursley picked up his briefcase, pecked Mrs. Dursley on the cheek, and tried to kiss Dudley good-bye but missed, because Dudley was now having a tantrum and throwing his cereal at the walls. "Little tyke," chortled Mr. Dursley as he left the house.**

"What a brat," scoffed Ginny whose arms were around Harry. "It's even worse because his father is encouraging it!"

**He got into his car and backed out of number four's drive. It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of something peculiar - a cat reading a map.**

"Minnie!" shouted James, Sirius, Lupin and the twins. McGonagall glared at them for using her nickname. She shook her head. Was it really a good idea for those lot to sit near each 0ther?

**For a second, Mr. Dursley didn't realize what he had seen - then he jerked his head around to look again. There was a tabby cat standing on the corner of Privet Drive, but there wasn't a map in sight. What could he have been thinking of?**

"He was thinking?" exclaimed Harry. "That must be a first." This caused those who knew the Dursley's to laugh.

**It must have been a trick of the light. Mr. Dursley blinked and stared at the cat. It stared back.**

"Ah the classical Minnie glare," sighed Sirius. "I think I lost count on how many times she would glare at us like that." Harry snickered, he'd also had his fair share of McGonagall glaring at him.

**As Mr. Dursley drove around the corner and up the road, he watched the cat in his mirror. It was now reading the sign that said Privet Drive - no, looking at the sign; cats couldn't read maps or signs.**

"Yes they can if they are an animagus," chorused the marauders and the twins.

**Mr. Dursley gave himself a little shake and put the cat out of his mind. As he drove toward town he thought of nothing except a large order of drills he was hoping to get that day.**

**"**wow he has a one track mind," said Angelina.

**But on the edge of town, drills were driven out of his mind by something else. As he sat in the usual morning traffic jam, he couldn't help noticing that there seemed to be a lot of strangely dressed people about. People in cloaks.**

There was an uproar though out the hall as people asked what wrong with wearing cloaks.

**Mr. Dursley couldn't bear people who dressed in funny clothes - the getups you saw on young people! He supposed this was some stupid new fashion.**

"Actually no. Witches and Wizards have been wearing robes for centuries," stated Hermione, causing those around her to groan.

**He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and his eyes fell on a huddle of these weirdos standing quite close by. They were whispering excitedly together. Mr. Dursley was enraged to see that a couple of them weren't young at all; why, that man had to be older than he was, and wearing an emerald-green cloak! The nerve of him!**

"The Nerve of some people," shouted the Weasley twins.

**But then it struck Mr. Dursley that this was probably some silly stunt - these people were obviously collecting for something... yes, that would be it. The traffic moved on and a few minutes later, Mr. Dursley arrived in the Grunnings parking lot, his mind back on drills.**

"Definitely a one track mind Alicia agreed with Angelina.

**Mr. Dursley always sat with his back to the window in his office on the ninth floor. If he hadn't, he might have found it harder to concentrate on drills that morning. He didn't see the owls swoop ing past in broad daylight, though people down in the street did; they pointed and gazed open- mouthed as owl after owl sped overhead.**

McGonagall had raised her eyebrows at the mention of Owls being seen in daylight by the muggles.

"I'm surprised we weren't found out."

**Most of them had never seen an owl even at nighttime. Mr. Dursley, however, had a perfectly normal, owl-free morning. He yelled at five different people. He made several important telephone calls and shouted a bit more.**

"He has a very odd idea about how a good day should be," said Mrs Weasley who had never seen eye to eye with Harry's relatives.

**He was in a very good mood until lunchtime, when he thought he'd stretch his legs**…

"He actually moved?" Harry said in shock.

**and walk across the road to buy himself a bun from the bakery.**

"Ahh that explains a lot,"

**He'd forgotten all about the people in cloaks until he passed a group of them next to the baker's. He eyed them angrily as he passed. He didn't know why, but they made him uneasy.**

"That's because you're an idiot," Ron quipped.

**This bunch were whispering excitedly, too, and he couldn't see a single collecting tin. It was on his way back past them, clutching a large doughnut in a bag, that he caught a few words of what they were saying.**

**"The Potters, that's right, that's what I heard yes, their son, Harry"**

It was in this moment that mostly everyone realised which day this was causing sad looks to be directed Harry's way.

**Mr. Dursley stopped dead.**

Cheers filled the hall.

**Fear flooded him. He looked back at the whisperers as if he wanted to say something to them, but thought better of it.**

Boo's could be heard when they realised Vernon wasn't dead.

**He dashed back across the road, hurried up to his office, snapped at his secretary not to disturb him, seized his telephone,**

"That must be the fastest Uncle Vernon has ever moved," chuckled Harry.

**and had almost finished dialing his home number when he changed his mind. He put the receiver back down and stroked his mustache, thinking... no, he was being stupid.**

"You got that right," shouted Sirius.

**Potter wasn't such an unusual name.**

"It is in the wizarding world," said James.

**He was sure there were lots of people called Potter who had a son called Harry. Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure his nephew was called Harry.**

Lily was fuming.

"How could he not even remember the name of his own nephew?" she screeched. James rubbed her back calming her down.

H**e'd never even seen the boy. It might have been Harvey. Or Harold.**

Harry grimaced. Thank Merlin he was never named either of those.

**There was no point in worrying Mrs. Dursley; she always got so upset at any mention of her sister. He didn't blame her - if he'd had a sister like that...**

"There's nothing wrong with Lily," shouted Snape and James at the same time. They glared at each other whilst Harry struggle not to laugh.

**but all the same, those people in cloaks...** **He found it a lot harder to concentrate on drills that afternoon and when he left the building at five o'clock, he was still so worried that he walked straight into someone just outside the door.**

**"Sorry," he grunted, as the tiny old man stumbled and almost fell.**

"Wow he actually knows that word," said Harry.

**It was a few seconds before Mr. Dursley realized that the man was wearing a violet cloak. He didn't seem at all upset at being almost knocked to the ground. On the contrary, his face split into a wide smile and he said in a squeaky voice that made passersby stare, "Don't be sorry, my dear sir, for nothing could upset me today! Rejoice, for You-Know-Who has gone at last! Even Muggles like yourself should be celebrating, this happy, happy day!"**

James and Lily hugged each other big smiles on their faces. They couldn't believe that Voldemort was finally gone. They were the only ones though, everyone else knew that he wasn't entirely dead.

**And the old man hugged Mr. Dursley around the middle and walked off.**

**Mr. Dursley stood rooted to the spot. He had been hugged by a complete stranger. He also thought he had been called a Muggle, whatever that was. He was rattled. He hurried to his car and set off for home, hoping he was imagining things, which he had never hoped before, because he didn't approve of imagination.**

"How can you not approve of imagination?" asked Luna. "Imagination is part of who we are." Harry nodded in agreement.

**As he pulled into the driveway of number four, the first thing he saw - and it didn't improve his mood - was the tabby cat he'd spotted that morning. It was now sitting on his garden wall. He was sure it was the same one; it had the same markings around its eyes.**

**"**It's definitely Minnie, only she could stand sitting there all day," commented Sirius.

**"Shoo!" said Mr. Dursley loudly. The cat didn't move. It just gave him a stern look. Was this normal cat behavior?**

"It is for Minnie," Remus, Sirius and James said.

**Mr. Dursley wondered. Trying to pull himself together, he let himself into the house. He was still determined not to mention anything to his wife.**

**Mrs. Dursley had had a nice, normal day. She told him over dinner all about Mrs. Next Door's problems with her daughter and how Dudley had learned a new word ("Won't!"). Mr. Dursley tried to act normally. When Dudley had been put to bed, he went into the living room in time to catch the last report on the evening news:**

**"And finally, bird-watchers everywhere have reported that the nation's owls have been behaving very unusually today. Although owls normally hunt at night and are hardly ever seen in daylight, there have been hundreds of sightings of these birds flying in every direction since sunrise. Experts are unable to explain why the owls have suddenly changed their sleeping pattern." The newscaster allowed himself a grin. "Most mysterious. And now, over to Jim McGuffin with the weather. Going to be any more showers of owls tonight, Jim?"**

**"Well, Ted," said the weatherman,**

"That's my Dad," shouted Tonks. "He always found it funny how the muggles reacted to the news that day," she giggled.

**"I don't know about that, but it's not only the owls that have been acting oddly today. Viewers as far apart as Kent, Yorkshire, and Dundee have been phoning in to tell me that instead of the rain I promised yesterday, they've had a downpour of shooting stars! Perhaps people have been celebrating Bonfire Night early - it's not until next week, folks! But I can promise a wet night tonight."**

**Mr. Dursley sat frozen in his armchair. Shooting stars all over Britain? Owls flying by daylight? Mysterious people in cloaks all over the place? And a whisper, a whisper about the Potters...**

McGonagall groaned. If a man like that could figure it out the wizarding world was doomed. She looked across to Albus who was grinning at her, his eyes twinkling with laughter.

**Mrs. Dursley came into the living room carrying two cups of tea. It was no good. He'd have to say something to her. He cleared his throat nervously. "Er - Petunia, dear - you haven't heard from your sister lately, have you?"**

**As he had expected, Mrs. Dursley looked shocked and angry. After all, they normally pretended she didn't have a sister.**

**"**Maybe I should pretend like you don't exist Tuney." Grumbled Lily.

**"No," she said sharply. "Why?"**

**"Funny stuff on the news," Mr. Dursley mumbled. "Owls... shooting stars... and there were a lot of funny-looking people in town today..."**

**"So?" snapped Mrs. Dursley.**

**"Well, I just thought... maybe... it was something to do with... you know... her crowd."**

**Mrs. Dursley sipped her tea through pursed lips. Mr. Dursley wondered whether he dared tell her he'd heard the name "Potter." He decided he didn't dare. Instead he said, as casually as he could, "Their son - he'd be about Dudley's age now, wouldn't he?"**

**"I suppose so," said Mrs. Dursley stiffly.**

**"What's his name again? Howard, isn't it?"**

**"Harry. Nasty, common name, if you ask me."**

"There is nothing wrong with the name Harry," Ginny told Harry giving him a small kiss.

**"Oh, yes," said Mr. Dursley, his heart sinking horribly. "Yes, I quite agree."**

**He didn't say another word on the subject as they went upstairs to bed. While Mrs. Dursley was in the bathroom, Mr. Dursley crept to the bedroom window and peered down into the front garden. The cat was still there. It was staring down Privet Drive as though it were waiting for something.**

**Was he imagining things? Could all this have anything to do with the Potters? If it did... if it got out that they were related to a pair of - well, he didn't think he could bear it.**

**The Dursleys got into bed. Mrs. Dursley fell asleep quickly but Mr. Dursley lay awake, turning it all over in his mind. His last, comforting thought before he fell asleep was that even if the Potters were involved, there was no reason for them to come near him and Mrs. Dursley. The Potters knew very well what he and Petunia thought about them and their kind... He couldn't see how he and Petunia could get mixed up in anything that might be going on - he yawned and turned over - it couldn't affect them...**

**How very wrong he was.**

**Mr. Dursley might have been drifting into an uneasy sleep, but the cat on the wall outside was showing no sign of sleepiness.**

"She's always like that," the marauders muttered. The Weasley twins nodded in agreement.

**It was sitting as still as a statue, its eyes fixed unblinkingly on the far corner of Privet Drive. It didn't so much as quiver when a car door slammed on the next street, nor when two owls swooped overhead. In fact, it was nearly midnight before the cat moved at all.**

**A man appeared on the corner the cat had been watching, appeared so suddenly and silently you'd have thought he'd just popped out of the ground.**

"Apparition," Lily said.

**The cat's tail twitched and its eyes narrowed.**

The Marauders laughed narrowing their own eyes into a likeness of McGonagall, she struggled to hold in her own laughter.

**Nothing like this man had ever been seen on Privet Drive. He was tall, thin, and very old, judging by the silver of his hair and beard, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt.**

"Dumbledore!" everyone shouted causing Dumbledore to stand and bow.

**He was wearing long robes, a purple cloak that swept the ground, and high-heeled, buckled boots. His blue eyes were light, bright, and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice.**

"Oh it has," he confirmed.

**This man's name was Albus Dumbledore.**

**Albus Dumbledore didn't seem to realize that he had just arrived in a street where everything from his name to his boots was unwelcome. **

**"**Oh I realised, I just didn't care," he quipped causing chuckles to be heard around the room.

**He was busy rummaging in his cloak, looking for something. But he did seem to realize he was being watched, because he looked up suddenly at the cat, which was still staring at him from the other end of the street. For some reason, the sight of the cat seemed to amuse him. He chuckled and muttered, "I should have known."**

**He found what he was looking for in his inside pocket. It seemed to be a silver cigarette lighter.**

"The deluminator," shouted Ron. "Thanks for giving that to me Sir, it was really useful." Dumbledore nodded his head in acknowledgment of the underlying meaning.

**He flicked it open, held it up in the air, and clicked it. The nearest street lamp went out with a little pop. He clicked it again - the next lamp flickered into darkness. Twelve times he clicked the Put-Outer, until the only lights left on the whole street were two tiny pinpricks in the distance, which were the eyes of the cat watching him. If anyone looked out of their window now, even beady-eyed Mrs. Dursley, they wouldn't be able to see anything that was happening down on the pavement. Dumbledore slipped the Put-Outer back inside his cloak and set off down the street toward number four, where he sat down on the wall next to the cat. He didn't look at it, but after a moment he spoke to it.**

**"Fancy seeing you here, Professor McGonagall."**

"I knew it was Minnie," shouted Sirius causing Harry to smile. He was still so much a kid. Lily wacked Sirius's shoulder.

"Everyone knew it was her, stop being such a kid." Sirius grinned and waggled his eyebrows.

**He turned to smile at the tabby, but it had gone. Instead he was smiling at a rather severe-looking woman who was wearing square glasses exactly the shape of the markings the cat had had around its eyes. She, too, was wearing a cloak, an emerald one. Her black hair was drawn into a tight bun. She looked distinctly ruffled.**

**"**A ruffled Minnie?" questioned the twins looking over to the headmistress.

**"How did you know it was me?" she asked.**

**"My dear Professor, I 've never seen a cat sit so stiffly."**

**"You'd be stiff if you'd been sitting on a brick wall all day," said Professor McGonagall.**

**"**Why were you sitting outside my sister's all day Professor?" asked Lily. McGonagall chose not to answer gesturing at Hermione to continue reading.

**"All day? When you could have been celebrating? I must have passed a dozen feasts and parties on my way here."**

**Professor McGonagall sniffed angrily.**

**"Oh yes, everyone's celebrating, all right," she said impatiently. "You'd think they'd be a bit more careful, but no - even the Muggles have noticed something's going on. It was on their news." She jerked her head back at the Dursleys' dark living-room window. "I heard it. Flocks of owls... shooting stars... Well, they're not completely stupid. They were bound to notice something. Shooting stars down in Kent - I'll bet that was Dedalus Diggle. He never had much sense."**

**"You can't blame them," said Dumbledore gently. "We've had precious little to celebrate for eleven years."**

"Too late," shouted the Weasley twins. There had already been reports of street parties at the announcing of Voldemort's death.

**"I know that," said Professor McGonagall irritably. "But that's no reason to lose our heads. People are being downright careless, out on the streets in broad daylight, not even dressed in Muggle clothes, swapping rumors."**

**"**How awful," exclaimed Mooney in shock horror causing his wife Tonks to laugh.

**She threw a sharp, sideways glance at Dumbledore here, as though hoping he was going to tell her something, but he didn't, so she went on. "A fine thing it would be if, on the very day YouKnow-Who seems to have disappeared at last, the Muggles found out about us all. I suppose he really has gone, Dumbledore?"**

**"It certainly seems so," said Dumbledore. "We have much to be thankful for. Would you care for a lemon drop?"**

**"A what?"**

**"A lemon drop. They're a kind of Muggle sweet I'm rather fond of"**

**"No, thank you," said Professor McGonagall coldly, as though she didn't think this was the moment for lemon drops.**

"There is always time for lemon drops," smiled Dumbledore as he popped the offending sweet in his mouth. He had definitely missed them.

**"As I say, even if You-Know-Who has gone -"**

**"My dear Professor, surely a sensible person like yourself can call him by his name? All this 'You- Know-Who' nonsense - for eleven years I have been trying to persuade people to call him by his proper name: Voldemort." Professor McGonagall flinched, but Dumbledore, who was unsticking two lemon drops, seemed not to notice. "It all gets so confusing if we keep saying 'You-Know-Who.' I have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying Voldemort's name.**

Harry nodded his head in agreement.

**"****Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself," he quoted smiling up at Dumbledore. **

**"I know you haven 't, said Professor McGonagall, sounding half exasperated, half admiring. "But you're different. Everyone knows you're the only one You-Know- oh, all right, Voldemort, was frightened of."**

"And Harry!" yelled Ginny and the twins. Harry felt his cheeks warm up.

**"You flatter me," said Dumbledore calmly. "Voldemort had powers I will never have."**

**"Only because you're too - well - noble to use them."**

**"It's lucky it's dark. I haven't blushed so much since Madam Pomfrey told me she liked my new earmuffs."**

**"**What colour were they?" asked Fred.

"Red and gold." A roar of approval went up on the Gryffindor table.

**Professor McGonagall shot a sharp look at Dumbledore and said, "The owls are nothing next to the rumors that are flying around. You know what everyone's saying? About why he's disappeared? About what finally stopped him?"**

**It seemed that Professor McGonagall had reached the point she was most anxious to discuss, the real reason she had been waiting on a cold, hard wall all day, for neither as a cat nor as a woman had she fixed Dumbledore with such a piercing stare as she did now. It was plain that whatever "everyone" was saying, she was not going to believe it until Dumbledore told her it was true. Dumbledore, however, was choosing another lemon drop and did not answer.**

**"**Yeah I want to know how he died too," said James. "I remember him turning up at the house but nothing after that." Lily nodded in agreement.

"It must have been a powerful witch or wizard that stopped him. Was it you Dumbledore?" she asked. Dumbledore shook his head. Harry turned his head away from his parents, hiding the blush on his cheeks, also the tears that had started to fall. He knew that they would find out the truth very soon. He felt Ginny grab his hand and squeeze it. He gently placed a kiss on her hand, trying to calm himself down. He glanced over to Remus and Sirius who were both staying silent on the matter. He nodded at them, seeing that they too were struggling with their emotions.

**"What they're saying," she pressed on, "is that last night Voldemort turned up in Godric's Hollow. He went to find the Potters. The rumor is that Lily and James Potter are - are - that they're - dead. "**

**Dumbledore bowed his head. Professor McGonagall gasped.**

**"Lily and James... I can't believe it... I didn't want to believe it... Oh, Albus..."**

Sirius and Remus were caught up in the memories of that night, their faces showing the grief they had felt when they had found that their best friends were dead.

**Dumbledore reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "I know... I know..." he said heavily.**

**Professor McGonagall's voice trembled as she went on. "That's not all. They're saying he tried to kill the Potter's son, Harry. But - he couldn't. He couldn't kill that little boy. No one knows why, or how, but they're saying that when he couldn't kill Harry Potter, Voldemort's power somehow broke - and that's why he's gone.**

Harry could feel the stares of his parents on him along with a good many of the students.

"You defeated Voldemort when you were a baby?" whispered Lily. Harry nodded, not looking at his mum and dad. He could remember them being murdered, as the sounds which he heard when dementors were near made themselves known. A flash of green light in front of his eyes. He had sometimes wished that Voldemort had chosen someone else. Now he knew that he would not wish his fate on anyone, not even his worst enemy. He felt arms go around him and realised that his mum and dad were once again hugging him, sobbing uncontrollably. They had missed so much of his life. He gave them a small smile, brushing the tears away. They'd not even finished the first chapter and here they were, a blubbering mess. He didn't even want to imagine the scenes later on in the books. What would his mother's reaction be to him getting bitten by a Basilisk?

**Dumbledore nodded glumly.**

**"It's - it's true?" faltered Professor McGonagall. "After all he's done... all the people he's killed... he couldn't kill a little boy? It's just astounding... of all the things to stop him... but how in the name of heaven did Harry survive?"**

**"We can only guess," said Dumbledore. "We may never know."**

"Did you know back then Sir?" Harry asked. Dumbledore nodded.

"I had my suspicions. You are a very brave man Harry, I do not think anyone else could have done what you did." Hermione and Ron turned to look at him.

"You can learn about it later, I'm sure it'll be in the book. They nodded in agreement.

**Professor McGonagall pulled out a lace handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes beneath her spectacles. Dumbledore gave a great sniff as he took a golden watch from his pocket and examined it. It was a very odd watch. It had twelve hands but no numbers; instead, little planets were moving around the edge. It must have made sense to Dumbledore, though, because he put it back in his pocket and said, "Hagrid's late. I suppose it was he who told you I'd be here, by the way?"**

**"Yes," said Professor McGonagall. "And I don't suppose you're going to tell me why you're here, of all places?"**

**"I've come to bring Harry to his aunt and uncle. They're the only family he has left now."**

"You left him with Petunia?" screeched Lily. Snape also looked shocked. He knew what Petunia was like, how could the headmaster place a small boy in her care. "They are the worse kind of muggles. She hates magic, you knew that." Dumbledore lowered his head in shame.

"I'm afraid that I put my trust in familial love. If she took him the blood wards would keep him safe. I never believed she would treat him badly. Harry has never said anything otherwise about his relatives." Harry ducked his head down. Of course he never said anything about the Dursley's, he didn't want anyone to really know what was going on. Now though, everyone would see him for what he really was.

"**You don't mean - you can't mean the people who live here?" cried Professor McGonagall, jumping to her feet and pointing at number four. "Dumbledore - you can't. I've been watching them all day. You couldn't find two people who are less like us. And they've got this son - I saw him kicking his mother all the way up the street, screaming for sweets. Harry Potter come and live here!"**

**"It's the best place for him," said Dumbledore firmly. "His aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything to him when he's older. I've written them a letter."**

**"A letter?" repeated Professor McGonagall faintly, sitting back down on the wall. "Really, Dumbledore, you think you can explain all this in a letter? These people will never understand him! He'll be famous - a legend - I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Harry Potter day in the future –**

"Please no!" shouted Harry. The twins grinned.

"Hey were starting a petition to get May 2nd made into Harry Potter day." Harry glared at the twins before vanishing the offending piece of paper.

**there will be books written about Harry - every child in our world will know his name!"**

**"Exactly," said Dumbledore, looking very seriously over the top of his half-moon glasses. "It would be enough to turn any boy's head. Famous before he can walk and talk! Famous for something he won't even remember! CarA you see how much better off he'll be, growing up away from all that until he's ready to take it?"**

**Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, changed her mind, swallowed, and then said, "Yes - yes, you're right, of course. But how is the boy getting here, Dumbledore?" She eyed his cloak suddenly as though she thought he might be hiding Harry underneath it.**

Uncontrollable laughter rang out through the great hall making the headmistress blush.

"It was a perfectly fair question, you never know with Albus," she stated.

**"Hagrid's bringing him."**

**"You think it - wise - to trust Hagrid with something as important as this?"**

"I would trust Hagrid with my life," Harry said. "Maybe not my secrets though," he grinned making the giant blush.

**I would trust Hagrid with my life," said Dumbledore.**

"You think the same as Dumbledore Harry," quipped the Twins.

**"I'm not saying his heart isn't in the right place," said Professor McGonagall grudgingly, "but you can't pretend he's not careless. He does tend to - what was that?"**

**"**McGonagall turned to Hagrid.

"Sorry Hagrid, I didn't mean to sound so negative. I was really grumpy from sitting on that wall all day." Hagrid waved her off.

**A low rumbling sound had broken the silence around them. It grew steadily louder as they looked up and down the street for some sign of a headlight; it swelled to a roar as they both looked up at the sky - and a huge motorcycle fell out of the air and landed on the road in front of them.**

**"**My motorbike," yelled Sirius. He looked up at Hagrid. "Do you still have her Hagrid?" He nodded.

"I left 'er wid Arthur." Sirius looked over at Mr Weasley and smiled in thanks.

**If the motorcycle was huge, it was nothing to the man sitting astride it. He was almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least five times as wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed, and so wild - long tangles of bushy black hair and beard hid most of his face, he had hands the size of trash can lids, and his feet in their leather boots were like baby dolphins. In his vast, muscular arms he was holding a bundle of blankets.**

Hermione took a breath.

"Talk about overuse of description." She mumbled.

**"Hagrid," said Dumbledore, sounding relieved. "At last. And where did you get that motorcycle?"**

**"Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sit," said the giant, climbing carefully off the motorcycle as he spoke. "Young Sirius Black lent it to me. I've got him, sir."**

Sirius's face blanched as he remembered the stupid thing he had done after that. He knew that James and Lily didn't know about that yet, he was sure that James was going to get angry at him.

**"No problems, were there?"**

**"No, sir - house was almost destroyed, but I got him out all right before the Muggles started swarmin' around. He fell asleep as we was flyin' over Bristol."**

**Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bent forward over the bundle of blankets. Inside, just visible, was a baby boy, fast asleep. Under a tuft of jet-black hair over his forehead they could see a curiously shaped cut, like a bolt of lightning.**

There was lots of 'awwws' and 'how cute' rolling around the room at the description of baby Harry. Harry hid his face again. How much more embarrassing could this get he thought.

**"Is that where -?" whispered Professor McGonagall.**

**"Yes," said Dumbledore. "He'll have that scar forever."**

"Unfortuantly," muttered Harry.

**"Couldn't you do something about it, Dumbledore?"**

**"Even if I could, I wouldn't. Scars can come in handy. I have one myself above my left knee that is a perfect map of the London Underground. Well - give him here, Hagrid - we'd better get this over with."**

**Dumbledore took Harry in his arms and turned toward the Dursleys' house.**

**"Could I - could I say good-bye to him, sir?" asked Hagrid. He bent his great, shaggy head over Harry and gave him what must have been a very scratchy, whiskery kiss. Then, suddenly, Hagrid let out a howl like a wounded dog.**

"I take offence at that," Sirius muttered.

**"Shhh!" hissed Professor McGonagall, "you'll wake the Muggles!"**

**"S-s-sorry," sobbed Hagrid, taking out a large, spotted handkerchief and burying his face in it. "But I c-c-can't stand it - Lily an' James dead - an' poor little Harry off ter live with Muggles -"**

**"Yes, yes, it's all very sad, but get a grip on yourself, Hagrid, or we'll be found," Professor McGonagall whispered, patting Hagrid gingerly on the arm as Dumbledore stepped over the low garden wall and walked to the front door. He laid Harry gently on the doorstep, took a letter out of his cloak, tucked it inside Harry's blankets, and then came back to the other two. For a full minute the three of them stood and looked at the little bundle; Hagrid's shoulders shook, Professor McGonagall blinked furiously, and the twinkling light that usually shone from Dumbledore's eyes seemed to have gone out.**

**"Well," said Dumbledore finally, "that's that. We've no business staying here. We may as well go and join the celebrations."**

**"**You just left him on the doorstep?" Hermione frowned. "It was November and you left a baby out in the cold until morning." She was starting to get angry and she was not alone. Both Lily and James had angry looks on their faces.

"He had warming and protection charms on him, he was perfectly safe," Dumbledore reassured them. Hermione backed down but Lily and James still looked pretty angry.

**"Yeah," said Hagrid in a very muffled voice, "I'll be takin' Sirius his bike back. G'night, Professor McGonagall - Professor Dumbledore, sir."**

**Wiping his streaming eyes on his jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung himself onto the motorcycle and kicked the engine into life; with a roar it rose into the air and off into the night.**

**"I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall," said Dumbledore, nodding to her. Professor McGonagall blew her nose in reply.**

**Dumbledore turned and walked back down the street. On the corner he stopped and took out the silver Put-Outer. He clicked it once, and twelve balls of light sped back to their street lamps so that Privet Drive glowed suddenly orange and he could make out a tabby cat slinking around the corner at the other end of the street. He could just see the bundle of blankets on the step of number four.**

**"Good luck, Harry," he murmured. He turned on his heel and with a swish of his cloak, he was gone.**

**A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen. Harry Potter rolled over inside his blankets without waking up. One small hand closed on the letter beside him and he slept on, not knowing he was special, not knowing he was famous, not knowing he would be woken in a few hours' time by Mrs. Dursley's scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk bottles, nor that he would spend the next few weeks being prodded and pinched by his cousin Dudley... He couldn't know that at this very moment, people ****meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed voices: "To Harry Potter - the boy who lived!"**

"To Harry Potter, the boy who lived!" everyone shouted. Hermione placed the boom down the chapter finished.

"Who wants to read next?" she asked.

"I will," said Ron. Everyone looked at him surprised. "Hey I can read," he muttered. He looked at the name of the chapter. "Oh no,"

"The Vanishing Glass"


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys. this is the next chapter, please enjoy.

THE VANISHING GLASS

**Nearly ten years had passed since the Dursleys had woken up to find their nephew on the front step, but Privet Drive had hardly changed at all. **

"That sounds like Petunia," murmured Lily.

**The sun rose on the same tidy front gardens and lit up the brass number four on the Dursleys' front door; it crept into their living room, which was almost exactly the same as it had been on the night when Mr. Dursley had seen that fateful news report about the owls.**

**"**No décor change in ten years," yelped Sirius. He was always keeping up with the newest styles when they were at Hogwarts. To keep something the same for ten years would be really boring.

**Only the photographs on the mantelpiece really showed how much time had passed. Ten years ago, there had been lots of pictures of what looked like a large pink beach ball wearing different-colored bonnets – **

Laughter erupted around the great hall, each imagining the picture that had been described.

**but Dudley Dursley was no longer a baby, and now the photographs showed a large blond boy riding his first bicycle, on a carousel at the fair, playing a computer game with his father, being hugged and kissed by his mother. The room held no sign at all that another boy lived in the house, too.**

**"**Maybe Sirius came and got him." James said to Lily, looking over to Sirius for confirmation. He shook his head sadly. James looked at him angrily. "You're his godfather why didn't you get him out of there?" Harry interrupted his dad before he could really have a go at Sirius.

"It wasn't his fault dad, he couldn't come and get me because he wasn't able to. Don't worry, everything will be explained in the third book." Sirius gave him a thankful smile.

**Yet Harry Potter was still there, asleep at the moment, but not for long. His Aunt Petunia was awake and it was her shrill voice that made the first noise of the day.**

Both Lily and Snape flinched. They both knew how annoying her voice was. To be woken up by it every morning for ten years was unthinkable.

**"Up! Get up! Now!"**

**Harry woke with a start. His aunt rapped on the door again.**

**"Up!" she screeched. Harry heard her walking toward the kitchen and then the sound of the frying pan being put on the stove. He rolled onto his back and tried to remember the dream he had been having. It had been a good one. There had been a flying motorcycle in it. He had a funny feeling he'd had the same dream before.**

**"**Wow good memory Harry," said Hermione. "I don't remember anything before I was five."

**His aunt was back outside the door.**

**"Are you up yet?" she demanded.**

**"Nearly," said Harry.**

**"Well, get a move on, I want you to look after the bacon. And don't you dare let it burn, I want everything perfect on Duddy's birthday."**

Lily glared at the book.

"She made you cook breakfast?" her voice on that dangerous verge of yelling. Harry shrugged.

"Only sometimes he mumbled."

"Oh when I see Petunia again I'm going to have a word with her."

**Harry groaned.**

**"What did you say?" his aunt snapped through the door.**

**"Nothing, nothing..."**

**Dudley's birthday - how could he have forgotten? Harry got slowly out of bed and started looking for socks. He found a pair under his bed and, after pulling a spider off one of them, put them on.**

Ron stopped reading and shuddered.

"How can you put them on when you know a spider's been on them?" he asked. Harry shrugged, whilst Sirius laughed.

"It's only a spider Ron, they're small and Harmless."

"Not the one's we've met," he mumbled loud enough for Harry to hear. One word. Acromantulas.

**Harry was used to spiders, because the cupboard under the stairs was full of them, and that was where he slept.**

A stunned silence filled the hall. No, it couldn't be true. Angry eyes swept to Dumbledore who had the sense to look ashamed.

"You told me they would look after him! That he was safest there!" Yelled Professor McGonagall. Harry had never seen her look so angry. She was livid, and she wasn't the only one. Everyone that Harry cared about was on their feet yelling at the headmaster.

"Sonorus" All eyes turned to him. "Look, I know the stuff I went through at the Dursley's is not great, yeah I hated it there. But that's over now. There's worse stuff then sleeping in a cupboard to come and if your reacting like this then were never going to finish these books." At these words there was a quick scramble for everyone to get back to their seats.

"I am sorry my boy for forcing you to go back there every year. I was 0nly looking out for you. If I had known how bad it truly was I would have taken you myself. Can you forgive an old man his weakness?" Harry smiled and nodded his head. Before the battle he would probably have felt extremely angry, but now that the horcrux was out of him he no longer felt that rising anger, for which he was extremely grateful.

**When he was dressed he went down the hall into the kitchen. The table was almost hidden beneath all Dudley's birthday presents. **

"What a spoiled brat," he heard whispered around the hall.

**It looked as though Dudley had gotten the new computer he wanted, not to mention the second television and the racing bike. Exactly why Dudley wanted a racing bike was a mystery to Harry, as Dudley was very fat and hated exercise - unless of course it involved punching somebody.**

Hermione glared at him.

"He better not have punched you Harry." Harry said nothing, knowing he couldn't lie to her.

**Dudley's favorite punching bag was Harry, but he couldn't often catch him. Harry didn't look it, but he was very fast.**

Once again Harry found himself under scrutiny of the great hall. Maybe it was the fact that now they were being told that their hero's life had never been easy.

**Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard, but Harry had always been small and skinny for his age.**

"Nope, that's just the Potter genes. Don't worry, you'll shoot up soon son." Harry gave his dad a small smile.

**He looked even smaller and skinnier than he really was because all he had to wear were old clothes of Dudley's, and Dudley was about four times bigger than he was. **

**Harry had a thin face, knobbly knees, black hair, and bright green eyes. He wore round glasses held together with a lot of Scotch tape because of all the times Dudley had punched him on the nose. The only thing Harry liked about his own appearance was a very thin scar on his forehead that was shaped like a bolt of lightning.**

"You liked it?" Ron asked. As far as he could remember Harry had always hated his scar and the attention it brought. Harry nodded.

"When I was younger it made me different to the Dursley's. I didn't know about magic or anything back then remember."

**He had had it as long as he could remember, and the first question he could ever remember asking his Aunt Petunia was how he had gotten it.**

**"In the car crash when your parents died," she had said.**

**"**She lied to you," whispered Lily. Harry nodded giving his mum a hug. It was still quite weird to be able to hug his mum, but he was taking advantage of it.

**"And don't ask questions."**

**Don't ask questions - that was the first rule for a quiet life with the Dursleys.**

"How are you ever supposed to learn anything if you don't ask questions?" asked Hermione. She looked upset about something and Ron whispered to her, hopefully making her feel ok.

**Uncle Vernon entered the kitchen as Harry was turning over the bacon.**

**"Comb your hair!" he barked, by way of a morning greeting.**

**"**Comb your Hair Harry," shouted Gred and Forge. They both laughed. "I do believe that should be our new greeting for him." Harry stifled his laughter.

"Never going to happen. The Potter hair is untameable," said James. Lily nodded her head.

"I've tried everything."

**About once a week, Uncle Vernon looked over the top of his newspaper and shouted that Harry needed a haircut. Harry must have had more haircuts than the rest of the boys in his class put together, but it made no difference, his hair simply grew that way - all over the place.**

Ginny grinned running her hands through his hair. She kissed his cheek.

"Just the way I like it," she said.

**Harry was frying eggs by the time Dudley arrived in the kitchen with his mother. Dudley looked a lot like Uncle Vernon. He had a large pink face, not much neck, small, watery blue eyes, and thick blond hair that lay smoothly on his thick, fat head. Aunt Petunia often said that Dudley looked like a baby angel - Harry often said that Dudley looked like a pig in a wig.**

More laughing ensued. The twins were looking at him in wonder.

"Harry, we've never seen this side of you! You're all witty!" Ron and Hermione shared a look.

"Harry is extremely witty, not so much in first year, but he definitely got worse as we got older."

**Harry put the plates of egg and bacon on the table, which was difficult as there wasn't much room. Dudley, meanwhile, was counting his presents. His face fell.**

**"Thirty-six," he said, looking up at his mother and father. "That's two less than last year."**

Looks of disgust covered the faces of the people near him.

"Even I don't get thirty-six," said the familiar voice of Draco Malfoy. For Malfoy to agree with everyone then something had to be wrong.

**"Darling, you haven't counted Auntie Marge's present, see, it's here under this big one from Mommy and Daddy."**

**"All right, thirty-seven then," said Dudley, going red in the face. Harry, who could see a huge Dudley tantrum coming on, began wolfing down his bacon as fast as possible in case Dudley turned the table over.**

Hermione looked sceptical.

"Harry I have never seen you eat fast once. Ron yes, you no." Harry grinned at her.

"At Hogwarts there is always loads, and if not we can go to the kitchens. At the Dursley's I never knew when my next meal might be."

**Aunt Petunia obviously scented danger, too, because she said quickly, "And we'll buy you another two presents while we're out today. How's that, popkin? Two more presents. Is that all right''**

**Dudley thought for a moment. It looked like hard work. Finally he said slowly, "So I'll have thirty ... thirty..."**

**"Thirty-nine, sweetums," said Aunt Petunia.**

"The idiot can't even count," shouted Dean.

**"Oh." Dudley sat down heavily and grabbed the nearest parcel. "All right then."**

**Uncle Vernon chuckled. "Little tyke wants his money's worth, just like his father. 'Atta boy, Dudley!" He ruffled Dudley's hair.**

**"**Oh yes, encourage him. What a brilliant father he is." Tonks muttered. She was missing Teddy and couldn't wait to go and see him.

**At that moment the telephone rang and Aunt Petunia went to answer it while Harry and Uncle Vernon watched Dudley unwrap the racing bike, a video camera, a remote control airplane, sixteen new computer games, and a VCR.**

Ron looked at Hermione with a confused face. She explained that they were all electrical pieces of equipment that muggles used for fun.

**He was ripping the paper off a gold wristwatch when Aunt Petunia came back from the telephone looking both angry and worried.**

**"Bad news, Vernon," she said. "Mrs. Figg's broken her leg. She can't take him." She jerked her head in Harry's direction.**

**Dudley's mouth fell open in horror, but Harry's heart gave a leap. Every year on Dudley's birthday, his parents took him and a friend out for the day, to adventure parks, hamburger restaurants, or the movies. Every year, Harry was left behind with Mrs. Figg, a mad old lady who lived two streets away. Harry hated it there. The whole house smelled of cabbage and Mrs. Figg made him look at photographs of all the cats she'd ever owned.**

Harry grinned.

"She was nice, but for an eleven year old it was pretty boring. I didn't even know she was a squib until fifth year."

**"Now what?" said Aunt Petunia, looking furiously at Harry as though he'd planned this.**

"How could he?" huffed Lily, feeling extremely angry about how her sister was teating her son.

**Harry knew he ought to feel sorry that Mrs. Figg had broken her leg, but it wasn't easy when he reminded himself it would be a whole year before he had to look at Tibbles, Snowy, Mr. Paws, and Tufty again.**

"But Harry, I thought you loved cats," purred Hermione. Harry shrugged.

"They like me, not the other way around."

**"We could phone Marge," Uncle Vernon suggested.**

"Oh please, no," murmured Harry.

**"Don't be silly, Vernon, she hates the boy."**

"Hate is such a strong word, more like loath" he muttered.

**The Dursleys often spoke about Harry like this, as though he wasn't there - or rather, as though he was something very nasty that couldn't understand them, like a slug.**

Both James and Lily growled, both looking at the book angrily.

"How dare they treat you like that" James shouted. Harry bowed his head, not looking at his father.

**"What about what's-her-name, your friend - Yvonne?"**

**"On vacation in Majorca," snapped Aunt Petunia.**

**"You could just leave me here," Harry put in hopefully (he'd be able to watch what he wanted on television for a change and maybe even have a go on Dudley's computer).**

"Not a chance Harry," said Fred.

**Aunt Petunia looked as though she'd just swallowed a lemon.**

"That's her normal look isn't it?" asked Snape causing Lily to grin.

**"And come back and find the house in ruins?" she snarled.**

"I wasn't going to blow up the house," Harry muttered.

**"I won't blow up the house," said Harry, but they weren't listening.**

**"I suppose we could take him to the zoo," said Aunt Petunia slowly, "... and leave him in the car..."**

**"That car's new, he's not sitting in it alone..."**

"He's not a dog," growled Sirius. Mooney smirked.

"Look who's talking," he said.

**Dudley began to cry loudly. In fact, he wasn't really crying - it had been years since he'd really cried - but he knew that if he screwed up his face and wailed, his mother would give him anything he wanted.**

"What a spoiled brat," muttered Parvati. The people who sat around her nodded their heads in agreement.

**"Dinky Duddydums…**

The twins grinned at each other as the hall once again burst into laughter.

"And I was worried about Ronniekins," said Ron grinning at Harry.

**don't cry, Mummy won't let him spoil your special day!" she cried, flinging her arms around him.**

Harry's eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Her arms fit around him?" he questioned causing snorts to be heard all around.

**"I... don't... want... him... t-t-to come!" Dudley yelled between huge, pretend sobs. "He always sp- spoils everything!" He shot Harry a nasty grin through the gap in his mother's arms.**

"Horrid boy," hissed Lily.

**Just then, the doorbell rang - "Oh, good Lord, they're here!" said Aunt Petunia frantically - and a moment later, Dudley's best friend, Piers Polkiss, walked in with his mother. Piers was a scrawny boy with a face like a rat. **

Sirius growled at the description of Piers. Anyone that looked like a rat was bad in his books.

**He was usually the one who held people's arms behind their backs while Dudley hit them. Dudley stopped pretending to cry at once.**

**Half an hour later, Harry, who couldn't believe his luck, was sitting in the back of the Dursleys' car with Piers and Dudley, on the way to the zoo for the first time in his life.**

Hermione looked at him sadly.

"You'd never been to the Zoo before?" Harry shook his head.

**His aunt and uncle hadn't been able to think of anything else to do with him, but before they'd left, Uncle Vernon had taken Harry aside.**

**"I'm warning you," he had said, putting his large purple face right up close to Harry's, **

Harry saw all the Weasley's flinch at the picture of his uncles face close up.

**"I'm warning you now, boy - any funny business, anything at all - and you'll be in that cupboard from now until Christmas."**

"He's kidding right?" Lily asked him. Harry paled and looked down. Ron and the twins both looked at him, remembering the bars that were placed on his windows at the beginning of second year.

**"I'm not going to do anything," said Harry, "honestly…**

**But Uncle Vernon didn't believe him. No one ever did.**

**The problem was, strange things often happened around Harry and it was just no good telling the Dursleys he didn't make them happen.**

"Accidental Magic," chimed Lily and Mrs Weasley together. The both looked at each other and smiled.

**Once, Aunt Petunia, tired of Harry coming back from the barbers looking as though he hadn't been at all, had taken a pair of kitchen scissors and cut his hair so short he was almost bald except for his bangs, which she left "to hide that horrible scar." Dudley had laughed himself silly at Harry, who spent a sleepless night imagining school the next day, where he was already laughed at for his baggy clothes and taped glasses. Next morning, however, he had gotten up to find his hair exactly as it had been before Aunt Petunia had sheared it off He had been given a week in his cupboard for this, even though he had tried to explain that he couldn't explain how it had grown back so quickly.**

James reached over and ruffled his sons hair, smiling.

"You can never tame the Potter hair, your mother has tried every trick in the book," he said to Harry. Lily smiled and nodded her head in agreement.

**Another time, Aunt Petunia had been trying to force him into a revolting old sweater of Dudley's (brown with orange puff balls) - The harder she tried to pull it over his head, the smaller it seemed to become, until finally it might have fitted a hand puppet, but certainly wouldn't fit Harry.**

"A shrinking charm," Mooney informed them.

**Aunt Petunia had decided it must have shrunk in the wash and, to his great relief, Harry wasn't punished.**

**On the other hand, he'd gotten into terrible trouble for being found on the roof of the school kitchens. Dudley's gang had been chasing him as usual when, as much to Harry's surprise as anyone else's, there he was sitting on the chimney.**

Hermione looked at him in surprise.

"You apparated?" Harry shrugged.

**The Dursleys had received a very angry letter from Harry's headmistress telling them Harry had been climbing school buildings. But all he'd tried to do (as he shouted at Uncle Vernon through the locked door of his cupboard) was jump behind the big trash cans outside the kitchen doors. Harry supposed that the wind must have caught him in mid- jump.**

**But today, nothing was going to go wrong. **

Ron, Hermione and the twins groaned.

"You just had the jinx it," said Ron.

**It was even worth being with Dudley and Piers to be spending the day somewhere that wasn't school, his cupboard, or Mrs. Figg's cabbage-smelling living room.**

**While he drove, Uncle Vernon complained to Aunt Petunia. He liked to complain about things: people at work, Harry, the council, Harry, the bank, and Harry were just a few of his favorite subjects.**

"Your one of his favourite subjects Harry," grinned the twins.

**This morning, it was motorcycles.**

**"... roaring along like maniacs, the young hoodlums," he said, as a motorcycle overtook them.**

**I had a dream about a motorcycle," said Harry, remembering suddenly. "It was flying."**

Hermione groaned.

"You didn't?" Harry blushed.

"Hey I was eleven. It just popped into my head."

**Uncle Vernon nearly crashed into the car in front. He turned right around in his seat and yelled at Harry, his face like a gigantic beet with a mustache: "MOTORCYCLES DON'T FLY!"**

"Yes they do," shouted Sirius. "Well at least mine does," he said smugly.

**Dudley and Piers sniggered.**

**I know they don't," said Harry. "It was only a dream."**

**But he wished he hadn't said anything. If there was one thing the Dursleys hated even more than his asking questions, it was his talking about anything acting in a way it shouldn't, no matter if it was in a dream or even a cartoon - they seemed to think he might get dangerous ideas.**

Both Fred and George grinned.

"Harry doesn't need to ask questions…"

"To get dangerous ideas," they said. Harry grinned, that was definitely true.

**It was a very sunny Saturday and the zoo was crowded with families. The Dursleys bought Dudley and Piers large chocolate ice creams at the entrance and then, because the smiling lady in the van had asked Harry what he wanted before they could hurry him away, they bought him a cheap lemon ice pop.**

"They're yummy, much better than other flavours," Luna commentated. Harry gave her a small grin whilst Neville gave her small kiss on the cheek.

**It wasn't bad, either, Harry thought, licking it as they watched a gorilla scratching its head who looked remarkably like Dudley, except that it wasn't blond.**

"The poor gorilla, being compared to that fat lump," muttered Hermione.

**Harry had the best morning he'd had in a long time. He was careful to walk a little way apart from the Dursleys so that Dudley and Piers, who were starting to get bored with the animals by lunchtime, wouldn't fall back on their favorite hobby of hitting him.**

Both James and Sirius cracked their knuckles whilst Lily and Mooney just looked angry.

**They ate in the zoo restaurant, and when Dudley had a tantrum because his knickerbocker glory didn't have enough ice cream on top, Uncle Vernon bought him another one and Harry was allowed to finish the first.**

"You were ALLOWED to finish it," screeched Lily making everyone stare at her. "How dare she, when I see her next, oh my sister is going to get a piece of my mind!"

Fred and George leaned over to Harry.

"Now we see where you got that temper of yours from," Harry smiled.

**Harry felt, afterward, that he should have known it was all too good to last.**

**After lunch they went to the reptile house. It was cool and dark in there, with lit windows all along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone. Dudley and Piers wanted to see huge, poisonous cobras and thick, man-crushing pythons. Dudley quickly found the largest snake in the place. It could have wrapped its body twice around Uncle Vernon's car and crushed it into a trash can - but at the moment it didn't look in the mood. In fact, it was fast asleep.**

"This is not going to be good," murmured Hermione.

**Dudley stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the glistening brown coils.**

**"Make it move," he whined at his father. Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass, but the snake didn't budge.**

**"Do it again," Dudley ordered. Uncle Vernon rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on.**

**"This is boring," Dudley moaned. He shuffled away.**

**Harry moved in front of the tank and looked intently at the snake. He wouldn't have been surprised if it had died of boredom itself - no company except stupid people drumming their fingers on the glass trying to disturb it all day long. It was worse than having a cupboard as a bedroom, where the only visitor was Aunt Petunia hammering on the door to wake you up; at least he got to visit the rest of the house.**

Lily looked to her son with love on her face. For him to compare his life to a snake it must have been bad.

**The snake suddenly opened its beady eyes. Slowly, very slowly, it raised its head until its eyes were on a level with Harry's.**

**It winked.**

Hermione looked shocked.

"Snakes don't have eyelids," she stated. Harry shrugged. He was so used to unexpected things happening to him it didn't surprise him anymore. He looked over to his parents. He was worried about what they would think when they found out he was a parselmouth.

**Harry stared. Then he looked quickly around to see if anyone was watching. They weren't. He looked back at the snake and winked, too.**

"You winked back at the snake?" asked James. Harry shrugged.

"Hey, I was lonely."

**The snake jerked its head toward Uncle Vernon and Dudley, then raised its eyes to the ceiling. It gave Harry a look that said quite plainly:**

**"I get that all the time.**

**"I know," Harry murmured through the glass, though he wasn't sure the snake could hear him. "It must be really annoying."**

**The snake nodded vigorously.**

James and Lily gasped.

"You're a Parstlemouth?" Harry nodded. "But only dark wizards can speak Parstletounge."

Harry felt as if he'd been stabbed in the back. They were making the same conclusions everyone else had been making in second year. Ginny squeezed his hand. He then felt her stand up.

"How dare you come to conclusions on your son just because he can speak another language," she shouted. The infamous Weasley temper coming into play. "You died, he was alone and he had to live his life without you. It has not been easy and he has already been on the receiving end of almost everyone's suspicions. You're his parents, you're supposed to support him." Both James and Lily looked downcast. They didn't really know their son, how could they make any assumptions about him. Lily placed her hand on Harry's.

"Harry, we love you, no matter what. Who cares if you can talk to snakes? You're our son. I know we didn't have much time with you, but we want to get to know you." James nodded.

"We've missed so much," he said softly. Harry nodded.

**"Where do you come from, anyway?" Harry asked.**

**The snake jabbed its tail at a little sign next to the glass. Harry peered at it.**

**Boa Constrictor, Brazil.**

**"Was it nice there?"**

**The boa constrictor jabbed its tail at the sign again and Harry read on: This specimen was bred in the zoo. "Oh, I see - so you've never been to Brazil?"**

**As the snake shook its head, a deafening shout behind Harry made both of them jump.**

**"DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT IT'S DOING!"**

**Dudley came waddling toward them as fast as he could.**

"You know, you keep describing him like animals," whispered Hermione. Harry grinned.

"That's because he is one."

**"Out of the way, you," he said, punching Harry in the ribs. Caught by surprise, Harry fell hard on the concrete floor. What came next happened so fast no one saw how it happened - one second, Piers and Dudley were leaning right up close to the glass, the next, they had leapt back with howls of horror.**

"Accidental magic!" Sirius said grinning widely at Harry.

**Harry sat up and gasped; the glass front of the boa constrictor's tank had vanished. The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the floor. People throughout the reptile house screamed and started running for the exits.**

**As the snake slid swiftly past him, Harry could have sworn a low, hissing voice said, "Brazil, here I come... Thanksss, amigo."**

"Well, at least he said thanks," quipped George. Harry shook his head. He wondered if the snake had ever actually reached Brazil, he hope that it did.

**The keeper of the reptile house was in shock.**

**"But the glass," he kept saying, "where did the glass go?"**

"Into nothingness," said Luna.

**The zoo director himself made Aunt Petunia a cup of strong, sweet tea while he apologized over and over again. Piers and Dudley could only gibber. As far as Harry had seen, the snake hadn't done anything except snap playfully at their heels as it passed, but by the time they were all back in Uncle Vernon's car, Dudley was telling them how it had nearly bitten off his leg, while Piers was swearing it had tried to squeeze him to death. But worst of all, for Harry at least, was Piers calming down enough to say, "Harry was talking to it, weren't you, Harry?"**

"Idiot child,"

**Uncle Vernon waited until Piers was safely out of the house before starting on Harry. He was so angry he could hardly speak. He managed to say, "Go - cupboard - stay - no meals," before he collapsed into a chair, and Aunt Petunia had to run and get him a large brandy.**

"They actually starved you!" shouted Mrs Weasley. "I know that you were too skinny, but to actually find out that they stopped you from eating."

**Harry lay in his dark cupboard much later, wishing he had a watch. He didn't know what time it was and he couldn't be sure the Dursleys were asleep yet. Until they were, he couldn't risk sneaking to the kitchen for some food.**

"You shouldn't have to," murmured Lily. Both Ron and Hermione exchanged glances. Now they knew how he was so good at sneaking around, he had plenty of practice at the Dursley's.

**He'd lived with the Dursleys almost ten years, ten miserable years, as long as he could remember, ever since he'd been a baby and his parents had died in that car crash. **

James turned to Sirius.

"Why didn't you take him in?" Sirius looked down, shame clearly etched on his face.

"It wasn't his fault," Harry told them. Both of his parents looked at him. "Look, just trust me. You'll find out in the third book what happened." They both nodded their heads.

**He couldn't remember being in the car when his parents had died. Sometimes, when he strained his memory during long hours in his cupboard, he came up with a strange vision: a blinding flash of green light and a burn- ing pain on his forehead. This, he supposed, was the crash, though he couldn't imagine where all the green light came from. **

"You remember that?" said Professor McGonagall, looking pale. Harry nodded.

"I remember more though now." Mooney nodded, remembering Harry's remarks from his third year.

**He couldn't remember his parents at all. His aunt and uncle never spoke about them, and of course he was forbidden to ask questions. There were no photographs of them in the house.**

**When he had been younger, Harry had dreamed and dreamed of some unknown relation coming to take him away, but it had never happened; the Dursleys were his only family. Yet sometimes he thought (or maybe hoped) that strangers in the street seemed to know him. Very strange strangers they were, too. A tiny man in a violet top hat had bowed to him once while out shopping with Aunt Petunia and Dudley. **

"Dedalus Diggle!" Tonks giggled.

**After asking Harry furiously if he knew the man, Aunt Petunia had rushed them out of the shop without buying anything. A wild-looking old woman dressed all in green had waved merrily at him once on a bus. A bald man in a very long purple coat had actually shaken his hand in the street the other day and then walked away without a word. The weirdest thing about all these people was the way they seemed to vanish the second Harry tried to get a closer look.**

"That's because they're wizards Harrykins. It's called apparition." The twins laughed.

**At school, Harry had no one. Everybody knew that Dudley's gang hated that odd Harry Potter in his baggy old clothes and broken glasses, and nobody liked to disagree with Dudley's gang.**

"And that's the end of the chapter." Said Ron. "Who wants to read next?" Mooney nodded his head.

"I'll read it," he said. Ron handed the book over to Remus who's eyes widened at the title chapter. He chuckled.

"The Letters From No One,"


	4. Chapter 4

**So another chapter up for you guys, hope you enjoy. **

**THE LETTERS FROM NO ONE**

**The escape of the Brazilian boa constrictor earned Harry his longest-ever punishment. By the time he was allowed out of his cupboard again, the summer holidays had started and Dudley had already broken his new video camera, crashed his remote control airplane, and, first time out on his racing bike, knocked down old Mrs. Figg as she crossed Privet Drive on her crutches.**

**Harry was glad school was over, but there was no escaping Dudley's gang, who visited the house every single day. Piers, Dennis, Malcolm, and Gordon were all big and stupid, but as Dudley was the biggest and stupidest of the lot, he was the leader.**

"Well that makes sense," muttered Hermione.

**The rest of them were all quite happy to join in Dudley's favorite sport: Harry Hunting.**

Once again Lily growled at the fact that her nephew beat up her son when they were younger. James had his arm wrapped around her and pulled her into a hug.

**This was why Harry spent as much time as possible out of the house, wandering around and thinking about the end of the holidays, where he could see a tiny ray of hope. When September came he would be going off to secondary school and, for the first time in his life, he wouldn't be with Dudley. Dudley had been accepted at Uncle Vernon's old private school, Smeltings. Piers Polkiss was going there too. Harry, on the other hand, was going to Stonewall High, the local public school. Dudley thought this was very funny.**

**"They stuff people's heads down the toilet the first day at Stonewall," he told Harry. "Want to come upstairs and practice?"**

**"No, thanks," said Harry. "The poor toilet's never had anything as horrible as your head down it - it might be sick." Then he ran, before Dudley could work out what he'd said.**

Laughter followed, the twins had tears in their eyes.

"Oh Harry, we never knew how quick your mind was."

**One day in July, Aunt Petunia took Dudley to London to buy his Smeltings uniform, leaving Harry at Mrs. Figg's. Mrs. Figg wasn 't as bad as usual. It turned out she'd broken her leg tripping over one of her cats, and she didn't seem quite as fond of them as before. She let Harry watch television and gave him a bit of chocolate cake that tasted as though she'd had it for several years.**

"That's nice," said Ron, his stomach starting to growl. Harry grinned, knowing Ron's appetite had hardly changed over the years since he had known him.

**That evening, Dudley paraded around the living room for the family in his brand-new uniform. Smeltings' boys wore maroon tailcoats, orange knickerbockers, and flat straw hats called boaters. They also carried knobbly sticks, used for hitting each other while the teachers weren't looking. This was supposed to be good training for later life.**

"How was that supposed to be good training?" screeched Mrs Weasley.

**As he looked at Dudley in his new knickerbockers, Uncle Vernon said gruffly that it was the proudest moment of his life. Aunt Petunia burst into tears and said she couldn't believe it was her Ickle Dudleykins, he looked so handsome and grown-up. Harry didn't trust himself to speak. He thought two of his ribs might already have cracked from trying not to laugh.**

"It's a good thing I didn't, the Dursley's wouldn't have taken me to the hospital," Harry sighed.

**There was a horrible smell in the kitchen the next morning when Harry went in for breakfast. It seemed to be coming from a large metal tub in the sink. He went to have a look. The tub was full of what looked like dirty rags swimming in gray water.**

**"What's this?" he asked Aunt Petunia. Her lips tightened as they always did if he dared to ask a question.**

**"Your new school uniform," she said.**

**Harry looked in the bowl again.**

**"Oh," he said, "I didn't realize it had to be so wet."**

The twins once again looked at him with astonishment on their faces. Harry was trying hard to keep himself from laughing.

**"Don't be stupid," snapped Aunt Petunia. "I'm dying some of Dudley's old things grey for you. It'll look just like everyone else's when I've finished."**

**Harry seriously doubted this, but thought it best not to argue. He sat down at the table and tried not to think about how he was going to look on his first day at Stonewall High - like he was wearing bits of old elephant skin, probably.**

"No you won't 'cause you're going to Hogwarts," yelled the twins, making Harry nod his head.

**Dudley and Uncle Vernon came in, both with wrinkled noses because of the smell from Harry's new uniform. Uncle Vernon opened his newspaper as usual and Dudley banged his Smelting stick, which he carried everywhere, on the table.**

**They heard the click of the mail slot and flop of letters on the doormat.**

**"Get the mail, Dudley," said Uncle Vernon from behind his paper.**

Lily looked surprised.

"He actually got his son to do something?" she asked, looking surprised. Harry shook his head.

**"Make Harry get it."**

**"**Why did I even bother to ask," she grumbled.

**"Get the mail, Harry."**

**"Make Dudley get it."**

**"Poke him with your Smelting stick, Dudley."**

**Harry dodged the Smelting stick and went to get the mail. Three things lay on the doormat: a postcard from Uncle Vernon's sister Marge, who was vacationing on the Isle of Wight, a brown envelope that looked like a bill, and - a letter for Harry.**

"Your Hogwarts Letter!" shouted all the Weasley's and Marauders. Harry grinned. Up until then his life had been bad, but that's when everything changed.

**Harry picked it up and stared at it, his heart twanging like a giant elastic band. No one, ever, in his whole life, had written to him. Who would? **

"Oh no one, just every single witch and wizard in the country. Not to mention Ginny sent several letters," smirked Ron. He winced as Ginny kicked him under the table.

**He had no friends, no other relatives - he didn't belong to the library, so he'd never even got rude notes asking for books back. Yet here it was, a letter, addressed so plainly there could be no mistake:**

**Mr. H. Potter**

**The Cupboard under the Stairs**

**4 Privet Drive**

**Little Whinging**

**Surrey**

**The envelope was thick and heavy, made of yellowish parchment, and the address was written in emerald-green ink. There was no stamp.**

**Turning the envelope over, his hand trembling, Harry saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion,**

The Gryffindor table broke into roars.

**an eagle, **

The Ravenclaws yelled out.

**a badger,**

The hufflepuff table cheered.

**and a snake **

The Slytherin table all hissed.

**surrounding a large letter H.**

"HOGWARTS!" everyone shouted.

**"Hurry up, boy!" shouted Uncle Vernon from the kitchen. "What are you doing, checking for letter bombs?" He chuckled at his own joke.**

Fred and George looked embarrassed.

"That's not a joke…"

"That's an abomination of a joke," the twins moaned.

**Harry went back to the kitchen, still staring at his letter. He handed Uncle Vernon the bill and the postcard, sat down, and slowly began to open the yellow envelope.**

Hermione groaned.

"Seriously Harry, why did you take it into the kitchen?" Harry shrugged his shoulders.

"Hey, I was eleven. I wasn't as paranoid as I am right now."

**Uncle Vernon ripped open the bill, snorted in disgust, and flipped over the postcard.**

**"Marge's ill," he informed Aunt Petunia. "Ate a funny whelk. -."**

"Shame she didn't die," grumbled Harry.

**"Dad!" said Dudley suddenly. "Dad, Harry's got something!"**

**Harry was on the point of unfolding his letter, which was written on the same heavy parchment as the envelope, when it was jerked sharply out of his hand by Uncle Vernon.**

**"That's mine!" said Harry, trying to snatch it back.**

Fred and George exchanged looks with Ron and Hermione.

"I do believe that were going to be seeing some of the Potter temper in this chapter," grinned Fred. Harry blushed, sometimes his temper did get the better of him.

**"Who'd be writing to you?" sneered Uncle Vernon, shaking the letter open with one hand and glancing at it. His face went from red to green faster than a set of traffic lights. And it didn't stop there. Within seconds it was the grayish white of old porridge.**

"Nice description Harry," giggled Hermione.

**"P-P-Petunia!" he gasped.**

**Dudley tried to grab the letter to read it, but Uncle Vernon held it high out of his reach. Aunt Petunia took it curiously and read the first line. For a moment it looked as though she might faint. She clutched her throat and made a choking noise.**

**"Vernon! Oh my goodness - Vernon!"**

**They stared at each other, seeming to have forgotten that Harry and Dudley were still in the room. Dudley wasn't used to being ignored. He gave his father a sharp tap on the head with his Smelting stick.**

**"I want to read that letter," he said loudly. I want to read it," said Harry furiously, "as it's mine."**

George chuckled.

"Cut him off before he starts, he's gets louder the longer you put him off for," he smirked.

**"Get out, both of you," croaked Uncle Vernon, stuffing the letter back inside its envelope.**

**Harry didn't move.**

**"****I WANT MY LETTER!" he shouted.**

"And there it is ladies and gents, the Potter temper," Harry blushed, whilst his friends and family around him roared in laughter.

"You get your temper from your mother," James told him.

**"Let me see it!" demanded Dudley.**

**"OUT!" roared Uncle Vernon, and he took both Harry and Dudley by the scruffs of their necks and threw them into the hall, slamming the kitchen door behind them. Harry and Dudley promptly had a furious but silent fight over who would listen at the keyhole; Dudley won, so Harry, his glasses dangling from one ear, lay flat on his stomach to listen at the crack between door and floor.**

**"Vernon," Aunt Petunia was saying in a quivering voice, "look at the address - how could they possibly know where he sleeps? You don't think they're watching the house?"**

"Who'd want to watch them," muttered Mooney.

**"Watching - spying - might be following us," muttered Uncle Vernon wildly.**

**"But what should we do, Vernon? Should we write back? Tell them we don't want -"**

**Harry could see Uncle Vernon's shiny black shoes pacing up and down the kitchen.**

**"No," he said finally. "No, we'll ignore it. If they don't get an answer... Yes, that's best... we won't do anything...**

**"But -"**

**"I'm not having one in the house, Petunia! Didn't we swear when we took him in we'd stamp out that dangerous nonsense?"**

"Stamp it out of him? How dare he say that," shouted Lily.

**That evening when he got back from work, Uncle Vernon did something he'd never done before; he visited Harry in his cupboard.**

**"Where's my letter?" said Harry, the moment Uncle Vernon had squeezed through the door. "Who's writing to me?"**

"Ever the persistent," Ron quipped, making Harry and Hermione laugh.

**"No one. it was addressed to you by mistake," said Uncle Vernon shortly. "I have burned it."**

**"It was not a mistake," said Harry angrily, "it had my cupboard on it."**

**"SILENCE!" yelled Uncle Vernon, and a couple of spiders fell from the ceiling.**

Ron flinched at the mention of spiders.

**He took a few deep breaths and then forced his face into a smile, which looked quite painful.**

**"Er - yes, Harry - about this cupboard. Your aunt and I have been thinking... you're really getting a bit big for it... we think it might be nice if you moved into Dudley's second bedroom.**

Silence. Then …

"How many bedrooms did the Dursley's have?" Sirius growled. Harry swallowed. They'd not even gotten to Hogwarts yet and already everyone was taking it badly.

"Four," he mumbled. Furious faces could be seen throughout the hall. Harry felt eyes on him and looked up to see Dumbledore looking at him sadly. He gave his mentor a small smile to let him know that any past discrepancies that they had were just that, in the past.

**"Why?" said Harry.**

**"Don't ask questions!" snapped his uncle. "Take this stuff upstairs, now."**

**The Dursleys' house had four bedrooms: one for Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, one for visitors (usually Uncle Vernon's sister, Marge), one where Dudley slept, and one where Dudley kept all the toys and things that wouldn't fit into his first bedroom. It only took Harry one trip upstairs to move everything he owned from the cupboard to this room. He sat down on the bed and stared around him. Nearly everything in here was broken. The month-old video camera was lying on top of a small, working tank Dudley had once driven over the next door neighbour's dog; in the corner was Dudley's first-ever television set, which he'd put his foot through when his favourite program had been cancelled; there was a large birdcage, which had once held a parrot that Dudley had swapped at school for a real air rifle, which was up on a shelf with the end all bent because Dudley had sat on it.**

Once again laughter filled the hall with his cousin being the object of their laughter.

**Other shelves were full of books. They were the only things in the room that looked as though they'd never been touched.**

Hermione looked pained at the mention of unread books.

**From downstairs came the sound of Dudley bawling at his mother, I don't want him in there... I need that room... make him get out..."**

"Spoiled brat," Ginny whispered in Harry's ear.

**Harry sighed and stretched out on the bed. Yesterday he'd have given anything to be up here. Today he'd rather be back in his cupboard with that letter than up here without it.**

**Next morning at breakfast, everyone was rather quiet. Dudley was in shock. He'd screamed, whacked his father with his Smelting stick, been sick on purpose, kicked his mother, and thrown his tortoise through the greenhouse roof, and he still didn't have his room back. Harry was thinking about this time yesterday and bitterly wishing he'd opened the letter in the hall. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia kept looking at each other darkly.**

**When the mail arrived, Uncle Vernon, who seemed to be trying to be nice to Harry, made Dudley go and get it. They heard him banging things with his Smelting stick all the way down the hall. Then he shouted, "There's another one! 'Mr. H. Potter, The Smallest Bedroom, 4 Privet Drive -'"**

**With a strangled cry, Uncle Vernon leapt from his seat and ran down the hall, Harry right behind him. Uncle Vernon had to wrestle Dudley to the ground to get the letter from him, which was made difficult by the fact that Harry had grabbed Uncle Vernon around the neck from behind. **

Ron and Hermione grinned at him.

"Getting in some practice Harry?" he grinned at them, everyone else looking at them questioningly.

**After a minute of confused fighting, in which everyone got hit a lot by the Smelting stick, Uncle Vernon straightened up, gasping for breath, with Harry's letter clutched in his hand.**

**"Go to your cupboard - I mean, your bedroom," he wheezed at Harry. "Dudley - go - just go."**

**Harry walked round and round his new room. Someone knew he had moved out of his cupboard and they seemed to know he hadn't received his first letter. Surely that meant they'd try again? And this time he'd make sure they didn't fail. He had a plan.**

Both Ron and Hermione groaned causing James and Lily to ask why. They exchanged glances.

"Whenever Harry plans something, they tend to always go awry. He's a more of an in the moment idealist." Hermione told them.

**The repaired alarm clock rang at six o'clock the next morning. Harry turned it off quickly and dressed silently. He mustn't wake the Dursleys. He stole downstairs without turning on any of the lights.**

**He was going to wait for the postman on the corner of Privet Drive and get the letters for number four first.**

"That's quite a good plan for Harry," Hermione grinned.

**His heart hammered as he crept across the dark hall toward the front door -**

**Harry leapt into the air; he'd trodden on something big and squashy on the doormat - something alive!**

**Lights clicked on upstairs and to his horror Harry realized that the big, squashy something had been his uncle's face. Uncle Vernon had been lying at the foot of the front door in a sleeping bag, clearly making sure that Harry didn't do exactly what he'd been trying to do. He shouted at Harry for about half an hour and then told him to go and make a cup of tea. Harry shuffled miserably off into the kitchen and by the time he got back, the mail had arrived, right into Uncle Vernon's lap. Harry could see three letters addressed in green ink.**

**"****I want -" he began, but Uncle Vernon was tearing the letters into pieces before his eyes. Uncle Vernon didn't go to work that day. He stayed at home and nailed up the mail slot.**

"That's not going to stop it, McGonagall informed them.

**"See," he explained to Aunt Petunia through a mouthful of nails, "if they can't deliver them they'll just give up."**

**"I'm not sure that'll work, Vernon."**

**"Oh, these people's minds work in strange ways, Petunia, they're not like you and me," said Uncle Vernon, trying to knock in a nail with the piece of fruitcake Aunt Petunia had just brought him.**

"Who would want to think like them?" scoffed Malfoy. Harry had to agree with him for the first time in his life.

**On Friday, no less than twelve letters arrived for Harry. As they couldn't go through the mail slot they had been pushed under the door, slotted through the sides, and a few even forced through the small window in the downstairs bathroom.**

**Uncle Vernon stayed at home again. After burning all the letters, he got out a hammer and nails and boarded up the cracks around the front and back doors so no one could go out. He hummed "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" as he worked, and jumped at small noises.**

"He's loosing it," Mooney chuckled.

**On Saturday, things began to get out of hand. Twenty-four letters to Harry found their way into the house, rolled up and hidden inside each of the two dozen eggs that their very confused milkman had handed Aunt Petunia through the living room window. While Uncle Vernon made furious telephone calls to the post office and the dairy trying to find someone to complain to, Aunt Petunia shredded the letters in her food processor.**

**"Who on earth wants to talk to you this badly?" Dudley asked Harry in amazement.**

"Everyone," Ginny told him.

**On Sunday morning, Uncle Vernon sat down at the breakfast table looking tired and rather ill, but happy.**

**"No post on Sundays," he reminded them cheerfully as he spread marmalade on his newspapers,**

"Ha, owl post comes every day," shouted Sirius happily.

**"no damn letters today -"**

**Something came whizzing down the kitchen chimney as he spoke and caught him sharply on the back of the head. Next moment, thirty or forty letters came pelting out of the fireplace like bullets. The Dursleys ducked, but Harry leapt into the air trying to catch one.**

"Seeker practise?" George and Fred chuckled whilst Hermione shook her head. Harry shook his head at the twins, motioning them to not let out that he played quidditch.

James looked at him questioningly.

"You play quidditch?" Harry gave Ginny a small smile, he knew from the stories that Lupin and Sirius had told him that his dad was a quidditch fanatic. He shrugged his shoulders.

"Quidditch is alright, I 'spose," he lied. He saw his godfather and lupin look at him questioningly. He winked at them letting them know what he was planning. At his words James looked slightly put out.

**"Out! OUT!"**

**Uncle Vernon seized Harry around the waist and threw him into the hall. When Aunt Petunia and Dudley had run out with their arms over their faces, Uncle Vernon slammed the door shut. They could hear the letters still streaming into the room, bouncing off the walls and floor.**

**"That does it," said Uncle Vernon, trying to speak calmly but pulling great tufts out of his moustache at the same time. I want you all back here in five minutes ready to leave. We're going away. Just pack some clothes. No arguments!"**

**He looked so dangerous with half his moustache missing that no one dared argue. **

Hermione and Ginny giggled at the thought of uncle Vernon's half a moustache.

**Ten minutes later they had wrenched their way through the boarded-up doors and were in the car, speeding toward the highway. Dudley was sniffling in the back seat; his father had hit him round the head for holding them up while he tried to pack his television, VCR, and computer in his sports bag.**

**They drove. And they drove. Even Aunt Petunia didn't dare ask where they were going. Every now and then Uncle Vernon would take a sharp turn and drive in the opposite direction for a while. "Shake'em off... shake 'em off," he would mutter whenever he did this.**

**They didn't stop to eat or drink all day. By nightfall Dudley was howling. He'd never had such a bad day in his life. He was hungry, he'd missed five television programs he'd wanted to see, and he'd never gone so long without blowing up an alien on his computer.**

"Now you know how Harry feels," huffed Mrs Weasley.

**Uncle Vernon stopped at last outside a gloomy-looking hotel on the outskirts of a big city. Dudley and Harry shared a room with twin beds and damp, musty sheets. Dudley snored but Harry stayed awake, sitting on the windowsill, staring down at the lights of passing cars and wondering...**

**They ate stale cornflakes and cold tinned tomatoes on toast for breakfast the next day. They had just finished when the owner of the hotel came over to their table.**

**"'Scuse me, but is one of you Mr. H. Potter? Only I got about an 'undred of these at the front desk."**

**She held up a letter so they could read the green ink address:**

**Mr. H. Potter**

**Room 17**

**Railview Hotel**

**Cokeworth**

**Harry made a grab for the letter but Uncle Vernon knocked his hand out of the way. The woman stared.**

**"I'll take them," said Uncle Vernon, standing up quickly and following her from the dining room.**

**"****Wouldn't it be better just to go home, dear?" Aunt Petunia suggested timidly, hours later, but Uncle Vernon didn't seem to hear her. Exactly what he was looking for, none of them knew. He drove them into the middle of a forest, got out, looked around, shook his head, got back in the car, and off they went again. The same thing happened in the middle of a plowed field, halfway across a suspension bridge, and at the top of a multilevel parking garage.**

**"Daddy's gone mad, hasn't he?" Dudley asked Aunt Petunia dully late that afternoon.**

"I think your father went mad a long time ago," chuckled Lupin.

**Uncle Vernon had parked at the coast, locked them all inside the car, and disappeared.**

**It started to rain. Great drops beat on the roof of the car. Dudley sniveled.**

**"It's Monday," he told his mother. "The Great Humberto's on tonight. I want to stay somewhere with a television. "**

**Monday. This reminded Harry of something. If it was Monday - and you could usually count on Dudley to know the days the week, because of television - then tomorrow, Tuesday, was Harry's eleventh birthday. **

"Happy Birthday!" yelled the twins, making party streamers come out of their wands.

**Of course, his birthdays were never exactly fun - last year, the Dursleys had given him a coat hanger and a pair of Uncle Vernon's old socks. Still, you weren't eleven every day.**

Lily nodded remembering her eleventh birthday.

**Uncle Vernon was back and he was smiling. He was also carrying a long, thin package and didn't answer Aunt Petunia when she asked what he'd bought.**

**"Found the perfect place!" he said. "Come on! Everyone out!"**

**It was very cold outside the car. Uncle Vernon was pointing at what looked like a large rock way out at sea. Perched on top of the rock was the most miserable little shack you could imagine. One thing was certain, there was no television in there.**

**"Storm forecast for tonight!" said Uncle Vernon gleefully, clapping his hands together. "And this gentleman's kindly agreed to lend us his boat!"**

**A toothless old man came ambling up to them, pointing, with a rather wicked grin, at an old rowboat bobbing in the iron-gray water below them.**

**"**I think he's lost it," someone mumbled.

**"I've already got us some rations," said Uncle Vernon, "so all aboard!"**

**It was freezing in the boat. Icy sea spray and rain crept down their necks and a chilly wind whipped their faces. After what seemed like hours they reached the rock, where Uncle Vernon, slipping and sliding, led the way to the broken-down house.**

**The inside was horrible; it smelled strongly of seaweed, the wind whistled through the gaps in the wooden walls, and the fireplace was damp and empty. There were only two rooms.**

Grimaces went around the hall at the description of the derelict shack.

**Uncle Vernon's rations turned out to be a bag of crisps each and four bananas. He tried to start a fire but the empty crisp bags just smoked and shrivelled up.**

**"Could do with some of those letters now, eh?" he said cheerfully.**

**He was in a very good mood. Obviously he thought nobody stood a chance of reaching them here in a storm to deliver mail. Harry privately agreed, though the thought didn't cheer him up at all.**

**As night fell, the promised storm blew up around them. Spray from the high waves splattered the walls of the hut and a fierce wind rattled the filthy windows. Aunt Petunia found a few moldy blankets in the second room and made up a bed for Dudley on the moth-eaten sofa. She and Uncle Vernon went off to the lumpy bed next door, and Harry was left to find the softest bit of floor he could and to curl up under the thinnest, most ragged blanket.**

Ginny squeezed Harry's arm. It was obvious how angry she was at the Dursley's right now.

**The storm raged more and more ferociously as the night went on. Harry couldn't sleep. He shivered and turned over, trying to get comfortable, his stomach rumbling with hunger. Dudley's snores were drowned by the low rolls of thunder that started near midnight. The lighted dial of Dudley's watch, which was dangling over the edge of the sofa on his fat wrist, told Harry he'd be eleven in ten minutes' time. He lay and watched his birthday tick nearer, wondering if the Dursleys would remember at all, wondering where the letter writer was now.**

**Five minutes to go. Harry heard something creak outside. He hoped the roof wasn't going to fall in, although he might be warmer if it did. **

"Oh Harry, ever the pessimistic," Fred said.

**Four minutes to go. Maybe the house in Privet Drive would be so full of letters when they got back that he'd be able to steal one somehow.**

**Three minutes to go. Was that the sea, slapping hard on the rock like that? And (two minutes to go) what was that funny crunching noise? Was the rock crumbling into the sea?**

**One minute to go and he'd be eleven. Thirty seconds... twenty ... ten... nine - maybe he'd wake Dudley up, just to annoy him - three... two... one...**

**BOOM.**

**The whole shack shivered and Harry sat bolt upright, staring at the door. Someone was outside, knocking to come in.**

"And that's the end of that chapter," Lupin said. Ginny gave Harry a hug. Reading about his childhood to everyone was hard. It was making everyone realise that he had never had an easy life. "Who wants to read next?" Lupin asked. Hagrid stood up.

"I'll read it. Afta' all, tis is where I come into the story," he grinned looking at Harry. Harry grinned back at his oldest and biggest friend.


End file.
